Power Rangers: Attitude Edition - (Book 1: The Zeo Saga)
by bajeeta
Summary: A gritty, rebooted story. A different take on the world, the mythos, and the story of Power Rangers. It's jam packed with lore from all across the Power Rangers canon, full of nostalgic faces, new challenges, and twists you'll never expect. Keep your eyes peeled: this is a ride for all Ranger fans.
1. Prologue

**PART III: THE RETURN**

**10,000 **years ago, the universe was engaged in a cosmic struggle. THE CULT OF SPECTER, a sinister gathering of powerful warlords, waged war on THE ALLIANCE OF ELTAR, a group of planets who sought to stop the rampaging conquerers. The Alliance, led by the ORDER OF MELEDAN, had nearly won. However, during the heat of a climactic space battle, a TIME VORTEX opened over THE CIMMERIAN PLANET, sending the Eltarian wizard ZORDON, and the cosmic witch RITA REPULSA hurtling through space.

The two forces clashed on the MOON OF EARTH, battling fiercely until both sides used their strongest spells. Zordon trapped Rita and her minions in a SEALING STONE, a nearly unbreakable spell. In retaliation, Rita reopened the Time Vortex, casting Zordon into it, where he remains to this day.

**PROLOGUE**

**The Moon of Earth, 1993**

Two people in puffy white space suits bounced across the surface of the Moon, their faces concealed by the reflective black orbs that were their helmets. The astronauts stood out against the grey rock like ladybugs on tree bark, easy targets for anything lurking in the inky black cosmos. Easy targets for the winged monster that flew above them.

It practically swam through space, it's raven black wings eerily still as it glided above its prey. It's eyes, crimson and predatory, squinted. These creatures were heading towards something. It could tell by the way they changed direction at the same time. One of them held a box-shaped object, and it blinked with various colored lights. With a nearly invisible twitch of its wings, the creature adjusted course so that it remained above them.

After a few minutes, the two astronauts stopped. The creature stopped too, flapping its wings to hover in the air, but still making no sound. It only watched, it's leathery black muzzle twisted into something between a snarl and a smile, as the pair of humans started to shovel and brush away the rock and dirt, with floated off in murky clouds. They were eager, but hesitant. Even with their inferior senses, they felt what the creature above them felt. It was electric, live wire energy in the air, making the monster's thick mane stand on end. It knew this feeling, this power. There was a strong magic at work here.

_Not that I didn't know that_, it reminded itself proudly. A smug expression curled its way onto the creature's muzzle. In fact, that was the whole reason for its being here. For a month, now, it had prowled the barren surface of this miserable moon in search of the source, and for a month, it had found nothing but useless rock and useless humans.

_Well, not so useless anymore_, it mused. It gave the humans a few minutes to excavate, and then dropped like a rock, landing silent and panther-like behind them. From the gold-plated sheath hanging from its waist, the predator drew a sword, glittering in the starlight and whisper-sharp. Two strokes was all it took, the blade going clean through space suit, flesh, and bone alike. Fresh blood bubbled from their now still forms, forming two cascades that seemed to hang in the air, the moment captured like a painting in the silence of space.

Sheathing the sword, somehow clean of any residue, the creature loped forward. Unlike its deadly grace in the air, it shuffled and hobbled on the ground, sometimes needing to rest its weight on its front knuckles like an ape. It clambered to where the two astronauts had been digging, and leaned down, furrowing its leathery brow.

It was a tall, oval shaped stone, darker and smoother than the moon rock. It was still partially buried into the moon's surface, and covered in dust that was caught in the strange etchings it bore. The creature sniffed at these markings, and then retreated as its hackles rose. Strong magic. Potent, like a spicy pepper, it burned its nostrils. The creature brushed the dirt away from the runes, and noticed that most of them were cracked, the strange markings jaggedly split down the middle.

The creature let out a hoot of celebration, doing a small hop and gliding in a tight circle. Eagerly, it closed its eyes, concentrating on presence that lingered, always, in the back of its mind.

**WHAT IS IT?**

The words burned into the monster's brain, like the lash of a whip. It winced.

_I've found something, my Lord,_ it thought back, trying to present its mind as subservient and loyal. The presence became tense, but curious. The creature waited nervously for a response.

**WELL?**

_A Sealing Stone! _The creature thought hastily. The mind of its master became pensive. It felt the familiar and unsettling feeling of its body being possessed, and with a jerk, its vision became overcast with a red tint. Using its hands, the master ran fingers along the cracked runes.

"Ah," the master said, using the rasping, guttural voice of the creature. "Eltarian magic?"

The creature tried to ignore the sharp dysphoria that accompanied its body being moved by someone else as the two minds scampered around the stone, noting how few runes remained intact. The master's mind was giddy, confused, and ambitious. It's emotions send waves of feeling over the creature's own mind. It felt perverted, being washed over with someone else's joy.

"Goldar, you flying monkey," the master said, "you've proven yourself useful to me after all."

The creature, Goldar, pretended not to notice how strange it was hearing his own voice call himself a flying monkey. It was like he was living in the backseat of his mind. The master, whether or not he sensed Goldar's discomfort, retreated, leaving the monster panting and tingling as he regained control of himself. He twitched his fingers, his toes, his tail, and shuddered.

**SEALED IN THIS STONE IS A VERY ANCIENT, VERY POWERFUL WITCH, GOLDAR. **

_Is it her, my Lord? _Goldar thought. _The Specter's Hand?_

**THE VERY SAME. THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THIS WAS DONE BY THE HAND OF THE WIZARD. WHICH MEANS THAT HE MUST BE NEAR. **

_What would you have me do, my Lord? _Goldar asked.

**WHEN THE FINAL RUNE IS SPLIT, SHE WILL BE FREE. UNTIL THEN, YOU WILL FIND OUT WHAT YOU CAN ABOUT THE WIZARD'S WHEREABOUTS, AND REPORT BACK TO ME WITH ANYTHING YOU FIND. **

_And what shall I do when the witch is free? _Goldar asked.

**YOU WILL BE HER GUIDE. SHE WILL HELP YOU KILL THE WIZARD. ONCE THAT IS DONE, I WILL HAVE WORDS WITH HER.**

_It will be done, my Lord, _Goldar said, his head bowed now. He waited, tensely, for a parting word. There was none. The presence of his master settled into the back of his mind once again, and he rose from the ground, taking flight. It seemed he would be spending even more time on this miserable moon.


	2. Chapter 1: Day of the Dumpster, part 1

**ACT 1**

**CHAPTER 1: Day of the Dumpster, part 1**

**Trini**

**Angel Grove, 1993**

It was Jason's idea to meet up at the Juice Bar that day. It was always Jason's idea. I mean, I'm not saying I would rather be the one who comes up with what we do all the time, but it was _always _Jason. He just had ideas, and always knew how to sell you on them.

Its sort of weird how clearly I remember that day. I guess its hard to forget something like becoming a Power Ranger. I had a gymnastics lesson after school. Like every Thursday, Coach Schmidt took me, Kimberly, and handful of other girls from Angel Grove High to the Youth Center. Then, for about an hour, Kimberly and I would kick it by the balance beams. She was actually really into the gymnastics stuff. For me, it was just an easy way to get my Dad off of my back. I didn't do many extra curriculars. Most of the time I just played Doom or whatever. I guess straight B+'s weren't enough, because he wasn't happy about it.

"Is Harrison Ford hot, or is he just angry?" I had mused out loud, as Kimberly was trying to maintain her balance on the beams I was the leaning on. She pondered the question for a moment. Then, almost effortlessly, she did a forward cartwheel, and landed on her feet. With a little flourish, she looked down at me, grinning and wobbling a little to catch her balance.

"Both," she said. I had shown her the Star Wars trilogy. She didn't get why I liked them so much, .but she was willing to watch them because she thought Ford was "cute", and because she thought Carrie Fisher as Leia was "breathtaking." As Kimberly beamed (no pun intended) down at me, I couldn't help but return the smile. That's how it always was. She was infectious that way.

A sharp whistle pierced our casual discussion, courtesy of Coach Schmidt. We joined the other girls in a half circle in front of her.

"Good work tonight girls," she said, casting her gaze over us. When she looked at me, I could read it in her eyes. _Good work everyone, except for you Trini. You in specific are the one I don't like because you're cute or you're lazy or whatever. _Yeah, that was probably what she was thinking. It didn't matter, because by the time she had finished her closing lecture my daydream also wrapped up, and Kimberly gave me a gently tap on the arm. We made our way across the gym floor, towards the locker rooms. Kimberly glistened with sweat, and was in need of a good shower. I wasn't, but I waited up for her anyway.

Once she was finished and came out looking and smelling like a million bucks (somehow), we left the gym and headed down to the Juice Bar. The Juice Bar was on the first floor of the Youth Center. It was a really cool thing that Angel Grove put together like, 2 years ago. Kids came in a lot to take lessons or play basketball or whatever, and then they would hang out downstairs at the Juice Bar.

"Hey, Ernie," Kimberly and I said, as the two of us found spots at the bar. Standing with his back towards us was a broad, barrel chested man, who was busy shaking about five different metal bottles at once. He turned from the smoothies to give us a big, lopsided grin. Ernie was always behind the counter at the Juice Bar, and he was really cool with all of his customers.

"Hey, girls, let me guess," he brought his fingers to his temples as if he was pretending to concentrate really hard, scrunching up his face in mock focus. "A… Mango Tango for Trini and a chocolate protein shake for Kimberly, because it's Thursday! How was practice?" Kimberly giggled and I snorted a little. Ernie was that kind of guy, always trying to make you laugh just because it feels nice. I liked Ernie. We all did.

I had nearly finished my Mango Tango by the time the boys showed up. Jason, with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder, was in the lead, and held open the door for the other two, laughing as Zack told a joke. Taking up the rear was Billy, hands in the pocket of his baggy blue jeans. The three of them came up to join us at the bar, Zack and Billy sitting by me, and Jason sitting next to Kimberly. I leaned over and shouldered Zack.

"What took you so long?" I said. He rolled his eyes, leaning over to look across the bar at Jason.

"Jason's ass," he said simply. Billy laughed, and Jason had to jam his tongue under his lip to keep from smiling. I raised an eyebrow. Kimberly sipped her protein shake, looking back and forth between Jason and us.

"I had to get a few more minutes in," was his excuse. "The Martial Arts Expo is coming up. I have to do better than last year."

Last year, Jason had lost on his second match, to a kid named Rocky DeSantos. He didn't just lose, either, he got destroyed. It was embarrassing. He had been so upset, we didn't see him outside of class for a month. All he ever did was go and train at the dojo. Now, with this year's Expo coming up, he was determined to do better. I grinned at him, which I hoped came off as reassuring. Kimberly offered him a sip of her shake, which he politely declined. Zack got up from the bar, stretching his arms out and then coming up behind Jason and clapping him on the back..

"Ok, let's go to the mall," he said. "Jason, you need to blow off some steam, my man. Last time you lost because you were too tense. You got inside your own head. You gotta get your mind off of it."

Jason agreed that it would probably be good for him to relax a little. He had been working pretty hard, and, after an exchanged look with Kimberly, he was fully on board. We all somehow managed to squeeze ourselves into Jason's Volkswagen Beetle, with Kimberly jammed between Billy and I in a position that would have been uncomfortable for anyone else. Luckily, the mall wasn't very far from the Juice bar, and soon the five of us were stumbling unwittingly towards our destinies.

Angel Grove Mall is pretty massive. It's also somehow classy and cool at the same time, attracting all kinds of clients, from businessmen to rambunctious teenagers. Everything from the Gap to Circuit City to those stores that your parents tell you not to go into alone. Yup. Classy and cool. The food court was actually nice, though, with a beautiful skylight that shed warm spring sunlight through dusty glass panes. That's where the five of us wound up, with both Jason, Zack and I complaining about needing to eat.

I decided on Taco Bell, Kimberly tagged along, and as we were going to get in line, a little kid stepped in front of me; I nearly tripped over him. He was maybe eight or nine years old, dressed up like Obi-Wan Kenobi or something, with a brown cloak pulled over his shoulders, the hood dropped down. His hair was short, shaggy brown-blond, and the tips of his ears were ever so slightly tapered. He was pretty adorable, except for his weirdly tired looking eyes. Stormy grey, and with heavy bags under them, they seemed to pierce right through my skull as they looked up at me. I blinked.

"Uh… Hey, kiddo," I said, looking around for any adults he might be with. I didn't find any, and the kid never stopped staring up at me. It was giving me the creeps, for real. I looked over at Kimberly, who was looking absolutely heartbroken. I rolled my eyes. She was in love already.

"Aw, hey buddy," she said, getting down a little to be at his height. "Hey, where are your parents?"

The kid shifted his gaze from me to her. Kimberly gave him her award-winning smile, and he didn't even blink. He reached out a small hand and placed it gently on Kimberly's forehead. I snorted, and Kimberly giggled too. She went to move his hand gently, but lost momentum halfway, her expression turning puzzled. Her eyes looked distant for a second, almost as if-

"Hello, ladies," an unfortunately familiar baritone came from behind us. I turned around, and my suspicions were confirmed. Two boys, our age, stood there. One was tall, skinny, and pale as a ghost. He wore a leather jacket that was twice his size, and like four wallet chains. That was Skull. His better half was a stout, muscular kid with a piggish nose and a ruddy complexion. That would be Bulk. They were both wearing smug expressions, as if running into us was the highlight of our day.

"Skull and I were thinking," Bulk went on, "why don't the four of us go out on a double date? Ain't that right, Skully?"

Skull was sort of looking off to the side, not making eye contact. His gaze twitched once to look beside me, and I suddenly realized Kimberly was standing there. I frowned, and looked past her.

"Kim, where's the kid?"

"The hm?"

"The kid, that weird kid, with the cape?"

"A cape…" The lights went on behind her eyes. "Oh, yeah, wait. What the hell? Where'd he go?"

"I don't know, he was right here and I-"

"_I''ve got tickets to Spin Doctors!"_

It was from Skull, his voice cracking and way too loud. A few people turned heir heads and looked at him. I swallowed and turned a little red. Ugh, people. I really didn't want to be talking to Bulk and Skull right now (or ever), but Kimberly tilted her head quizzically.

"You do?" She asked. "Eugene I didn't know you liked Spin Doctors. I love them!"

In response, Skull hastily chewed a piece of gum and made a sound that was maybe a laugh and maybe a wince, I wasn't sure. I had to actively stop my lip from twitching. Bulk's expression was priceless, as if he had never expected this to work. He turned towards me with a look of hope, which melted when he met my gaze. I wasn't interested. Bulk was pretty much a misogynist pig with no real world experience. At least when he was alone, Skull was normal. If a little twitchy. Bulk turned a little red, especially in his ears, and looked over his shoulder at the people who had glanced over. Then, he stormed off. Skull twitched, snapping his attention to Bulk.

"Bulk? Bulk, where ya goin'?" He called after him. He gave a longing, desperate look to Kimberly (the first time he had looked up from the ground) before dashing after his friend. I let out a sigh of relief as they went, but I saw a sad little pout on Kimberly's face when she looked at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't give me that," I said.

"You could have said something," she said, "told him no instead of staring at him like he was next on your hit list."

"He's a creep."

"He's a person," she countered. "I don't think anybody is nice to him, and that's why he's such a dick all the time."

"You see too much good in people, Kim," I said. I realized that we were now next in line, but I wasn't hungry anymore. That entire series of events had left my insides feeling uneasy with moral and social doubt. Ugh. Feelings.

"I don't think you see enough," she said simply.

"You really don't remember where that kid went?" I asked, as we made our way to where the boys were sitting. Jason was already two cheeseburger's in, working on a third. I don't know where he puts it. Kimberly pursed her lips, and her hand absently touched her forehead.

"No, I think," she shook her head. "Bulk and Skull distracted me and he dipped. Oh, I hope he didn't run away from home or, like, lose his family or something. Poor kid."

"Who's the poor kid?" Billy asked, hearing us as we arrived. Kimberly and I filled them in on our encounter, and only Billy seemed bothered. Zack shrugged.

"I'm sure he'll be ok," Jason said through a bite of cheeseburger. "Were you really going to go to Spin Doctors with Skull?"

"That's all that you got from that?" I scoffed. He looked at me, confused, and I just shook my head at him. He looked to Zack, who shrugged again, and then swallowed the last of his burger. Kimberly looked at us all like we were aliens.

"I mean, maybe. Eugene has trouble expressing, but he's cool. We have biology together. Plus, I _love _Spin Doctors," she said. Jason finally got the memo, and looked at Kim apologetically. She gave him a silent smile, and the tension was resolved. Zack looked at me, and we shared a lopsided grin.

"Um, just a hypothesis," Billy said suddenly, "But um. Is that the kid you're talking about?"

He was looking across from him, over Jason's shoulder. There, across the food court, was the kid with the cape. He was just standing there, eyes locked with Billy's. As if someone had gently guided their chins, soon Jason and Zack made eye contact with the kid as well. Then, something happened that none of us were prepared for. The kid spoke, but his mouth never moved. His voice echoed in our heads. I will never forget the words he spoke to us.

**Please, do not be alarmed. I know this may be strange and unsettling, but understand that it is a matter of great urgency. The five of you must come with me. Quickly. **


	3. Interlude 1

**INTERLUDE 1**

**The Moon of Earth, 1993**

Goldar had lost track of how many Earth rotations had gone by before the final seal was broken. He had been lounging on a rock, gnawing on a leg or arm bone from one of the astronauts he had slain, when he heard it, a resounding crack that ripped through his sensitive ears, snapping him out of his full-bellied daze. The bone fell from his mouth, and his leathery palm slid instinctively to the hilt of his sword, whipping it out with no hesitation. He sniffed the air, keen red eyes peering into the darkness around him. Finally, his gaze settled on the Sealing Stone. The air stank of burnt powders.

Hesitantly, the winged warrior approached, shuffling forward. He went to touch the stone, and then pulled his hand back with a yelp. It was red hot, though it looked no different. Goldar's eyes flitted rapidly across the surface, and he looped a slow circle around the stone. He realized, with a skip of his heartbeat, that there were no runes intact. He winced from the acrid odor that continued to resonate from the Sealing Stone, and took a few paces back.

Then, from inside the center of a rune, a light blinked on. It twinkled, like a distant star. Then another rune, on a different side. One by one, they glowed on, as if lanterns were being lit inside of the stone. Then, once a handful runes had lit up in a line, cracks would form, connecting them like a child's drawing of a constellation. The light soon grew bothersome to his sensitive eyes, and Goldar put up an arm to shield them. As he winced from the glow, a shiver ran up his spine. A haunting sound began to ring out from the stone. The sound triggered every ancient reflex in the creature's body, every cell screamed at him that he was in danger. He had just stepped into the territory of a predator much more dangerous than he was. However, his fear of the Master, always watching from behind his own eyes, was greater, and he stayed his wings.

It was a hideous, wailing laugh. A pent up cackle that had been stored away, building and festering until it amassed into this howl of an expression. The cracks in the Sealing Stone split and grew fractures, and bits of the strange rock crumbled and fell to the ground before turning into dust. The air hummed with power, and Goldar knew what it was, and feared it.

When the light faded, he lowered his arm. Where the stone had once stood was now a ring of black dust, and in the center was a figure. A dark haired woman, clad in stylized armor with a tattered brown cloak over her shoulders, sat with her knees pulled up to her chest. Clutched across her was a gnarled wooden staff, tipped with a crescent shaped blade, fashioned from crystal. Smoke billowed off of her, but no burns or flames could be seen. As she lifted her head from her knees, she revealed her visage to Goldar. Her age was impossible to tell. She looked similar to a human, but Goldar knew her as Eltarian by the reflective glint in her eyes, and the way she could breathe with no atmosphere. However, something about the gauntness of her cheeks and the longness of her chin made him think that, perhaps, she was not Eltarian either. As the smoke diminished, the woman rose, with obvious difficulty, grunting and leaning on her staff. Goldar dropped into a kneel, laying his sword on the stone before him.

"Hand of the Specter," he said. "I am Goldar. I am a knight errant, come seeking you, for I was told that-"

"If you call me Hand of the Specter one more time, I'll turn you into a frog!" The woman cut him off, her voice commanding and ragged. Goldar recoiled. "I am Rita Repulsa. I am a puppet of the Specter no longer."

Goldar frowned, keeping his gaze to the ground. He hesitated for a moment, thinking of what to say that would put him in her good graces. Before he could think of anything good, she began to hobble forward, nearly falling to her knees. With his cat-like reflexes, Goldar lunged forward, catching her before she could hit the ground. She let out a quiet laugh, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Bold of you, to approach the great Rita Repul...sa…" she said, her eyes fluttering. Then, she collapsed into his arms, snoring heavily. Goldar blinked. He looked around. What had he gotten himself into?

Another Earth rotation had passed before Rita had woken up. Goldar had propped her up as gently as he could against a rock, and was perched on top of another, across the ash ring from Rita. When she groaned quietly, Goldar's tail twitched, and he turned his full attention to her. She went to speak, and found that her voice was gone. She waved her hand, and the air around it seemed to distort. Then, she was suddenly holding a glass phial of water. She took a long, gratuitous gulp from it, and then paused for breath, only to go in for another. Goldar watched, not sure if he should be nervous or not. She had drank all of the water, and had sat up further, wiping her mouth, before she noticed him. She looked up at him and furrowed her brows.

"Oh, great," she muttered. "I thought I dreamt you."

She stood, this time much more successfully, but still leaning on her staff a bit. Her eyes looked over Goldar, as if she was searching him for something. Goldar looked her in the eye, now, his gaze unwavering. If he showed weakness, he feared she may follow through on her threat.

"You have been sealed, Ha-," he caught himself, "Rita. Sealed away for ten thou-"

"Ten thousand years," she interrupted. "I know. That's how long it took me to whittle away at Zordon's little magic trick."

She spat on the ground and kicked at the dust circle. Goldar found the whole display a little juvenile. She grew tired of it quickly, and took in a deep breath, casting her gaze around the surface of the moon, and then down to the shining blue surface of Earth. Something sinister glimmered in her eyes. It set Goldar's hackles on end.

"Finally… After ten thousand years…" She turned to Goldar. "I'm free."

"Yes, Rita. Now, please, if I may ask," he said. "Do you know the whereabouts of the Wizard?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, taking a few steps forward. She gave him a long, hard look, and then snorted.

"Of course not," she said, turning and kicking a stone before walking away. Goldar tilted his head in confusion, and then hastily shuffled after her. "You'll be hard pressed to find someone who does."

"What do you mean?"

"I cast him into the Time Vortex,"

"_What?_"

"The same one that opened up over the Cimmerian Planet. You do have records of that battle don't you? I hope so, I looked phenomenal. I mean, the outfit looked better before the battle started, but ah, these things happen."

She stopped at the lip of a massive crater, and turned back to Goldar, who struggled to keep up with her longer strides.

"How did all that wrap up, anyway? Did we win?" She asked.

"Uh, yes, Rita, but-" Goldar tried to say.

"Oh good," Rita continued, ignoring whatever else she had to say. She skidded down the side of the crater, and from his vantage point at the top, Goldar realized she was trying to get a better look at the Earth.

"That's a long walk," he called down to her. He unfurled his wings and soared above her. "Perhaps we should fly."

Rita agreed, and Goldar lifted her by the arms, the pair of them shooting across the grey terrain, kicking up dust.


	4. Chapter 2: Day of the Dumpster, part 2

**CHAPTER 2: Day of the Dumpster, pt 2**

**Billy**

**Angel Grove Mall**

It would not be entirely hyperbole to say that what we had just experienced was completely beyond the realm of what we thought possible. We all looked at each other, heartbeats rising as we realized, yes, we had all heard it. I swallowed hard. My mouth went dry, and my stomach tied itself in complicated knots while I tried to decipher what this meant. Obviously, the kid was psionic, and look at those ears! Tapered! Was he an alien? Had I just been one of the first five human beings to make contact with an-

**Um. I said, quickly. **

This time the voice in my head was less composed, and maybe even a little nervous. Jason had a confused look on his face. Trini had her eyes locked on the kid. Zack laughed nervously, and Kimberly looked a thousand miles away. She slowly touched her fingertips to her forehead. I glanced over at her.

"This doesn't feel right," Trini said, breaking the stunned silence at our table. Her voice was quiet against the chatter and bustle of the mall around us. Jason nodded, and so did Kimberly. Zack shook his head.

"I thought I heard it too," he said, looking to each of us for something to latch on to. "But… No way, right?"

"His lips didn't even move," Jason said doubtfully.

"It's like he was talking inside of my head, like a psychic." Kimberly murmured, "like a Jedi or something."

"Come on," Zack said. "This isn't Star Wars. Psychics aren't real… Are they?"

They all turned to me, expectantly.

"Why are you all looking at me?" I asked. I didn't like being under pressure. Or looked at. Or, in general, interacting with people. The four of them were fine, of course. We'd been friends since we were Freshmen in high school, pretty much a full year. Still, when they all turned to me like that, I felt the little knot in my stomach grow heavier.

"Are psychics real?" Jason asked.

I started to answer, "_No, of course not," _but I caught myself. How did I know that? Had I not just experienced something that suggested the contrary? If it had just been the first message, I might have passed it off as a nearby radio or television we all happened to overhear. However, with a secondary transmission coming so quickly after the first, and so clearly from the same sender, despite the shift of demeanor, strongly suggested that it was in fact some form of psionic broadcast. Nobody else in the food court had acknowledged the voice, while the five of us responded immediately to the supposed danger. That probably meant that broadcast could be isolated to specific targets. These things together were textbook telepathy, but I still struggled to wrap my brain around the fact that it might really be happening. And to me!

"It's… Practically impossible. Theoretically, anything can be accomplished, I suppose," I said, "However, most leading scientists and mentalists would suggest that the actual realization of telepathic communication might be beyond the boundaries of what we know can be accomplished by the human brain. It might-"

"Easy, Billy," Zack said. "Simplify." I bit my lip a little. When I got nervous I babbled complicated synonyms because I would forget the simple names for things.

"We don't think it's possible, no," I said. I turned to the child, still standing across the food court from our little group, staring at us. He met my gaze. His eyes were youthful. By my reckoning, he was maybe close to ten or twelve years old. He tilted his head a little bit. I squinted. He was quite far away, and I was in need of a new prescription. I saw him roll his eyes, and then jerk his head to the left, before turning and walking that way.

"I think he wants us to follow him," Trini said, taking the words right out of my mouth. She had watched our little silent exchange. Jason looked like he was ready to jump out of his seat, but he tempered himself and conferred to the group.

"Should we?" He asked.

"Even if he's not psychic, he's still a lost kid," Kimberly said, a crooning, motherly tone seeping into her voice. "We should at least see what he wants. Maybe we can help him out."

"Just follow some random kid? That's what we're doing? Man, I thought we came here to have fun," Zack said. Trini gave him a lopsided grin and slung an arm around his shoulder.

"What, this ain't fun enough for ya?" She asked, standing up and tugging Zack to stand with her. "I say we follow the kid."

So follow the kid we did. It took us a moment to find his little cloak in the sea of people, but soon we were tailing him. It was slow going, as he was walking against the grain of the crowd, and we had to apologize and squeeze a lot. Anybody watching probably thought we were a strange sight, and while we did get a few strange looks, nobody seemed to acknowledge the kid. After an agonizing five minutes of this, he eventually led us through an unmarked door next to JC Penny. We found ourselves standing outside the back of the mall, next to a few foul smelling dumpsters.

"You gotta be kidding me," Zack said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "The kid led us to the dumpsters?"

"Alright, cool field trip kid," Jason said, taking a few steps forward. "What's all this about?"

The kid turned around to face us. I noticed now that his ears were pierced, with small silver hoops. He was wrapped tightly now in his cloak, which blew in the chilled air of the spring evening. He squinted a bit at the twilight sun, which rested behind us and beamed into his eyes, but tried his best to look peaceful.

"Please," the kid said, using his speaking voice this time. Identical to the one we had heard in our heads. "The next few moments will be strange and alarming to you. I need you to remain calm and listen. If you do not, terrible things will befall you, your planet, and everything you hold dear. Do you understand?"

We didn't know what to say. The child spoke with the wisdom of someone far older, and his eyes looked harrowed from where I stood.

"Do you understand?" He prodded.

"Yeah- Look we heard you kid. Quit playing games," Trini said, crossing her arms.

"I play no games," he said.

"What's your name? Where are your parents?" Kimberly asked gently. He turned to her, and his expression was too complicated to describe.

"I am called Andros," he said. "but we haven't the time for introductions."

He turned his head to look behind one of the dumpsters, and jerked his head towards us, as if coaxing something that hid there to come out. We looked at each other in confusion, but all of our attentions were seized by what stepped out from behind the dumpsters.

It was probably once chrome, and bits of it still shined, but for lack of maintenance and perhaps exposure to the elements, it had grown rusty, corroded, and overall worn. It stood maybe four or five feet tall, and was clearly built to resemble a humanoid. It stood on two legs, bore two arms, though its head was oddly disc-shaped, with a black, visor-like band wrapping entirely around it. It walked with a shuffling, timid gait, and paused for a moment to let us acclimate.

"Its a robot," Jason whispered.

"Android," Trini and I said in unison.

"Whatever," Zack said. "That thing ain't human."

"_Hello. I am called ALPHA-5," _the android said. As it spoke, red lights flashed across its visor like a heart rate monitor. "_To properly inform you of the impending crisis, I have downloaded a Pop Culture Synthesis app. Please hold on while I boot it up. It has been quite some time."_

Alpha-5's head drooped, and the lights stopped displaying on its helmet. There was a slow ticking sound, followed by a long _whirrrr, _and finally a _ding_! Then, its head snapped back up, and it started to sway jerkily back and forth at the hips. Zack and Kimberly swapped glances.

"_Yo! It's ya boy, ALPHA! How's it hangin' dudes?" _The android said, having adopted a spunky dialect, though its choppy, robotic voice remained the same. "_Who's ready to hear the get-down on the bad news?"_

"Yeah, you guys keep talking about that. What exactly is the bad news?" Jason said. He was starting to look more and more serious by the passing second. I could tell that the other three were still unsure if they could take the situation seriously. Zack kept looking around as if he expected Bulk and Skull to pop out and reveal that it was all some stupid practical joke. I wish that had been the case.

"_I'm glad you asked, home boy!" _Alpha-5 said jauntily. "_My best bud Andros here tells me that you five are dope enough to receive the Power Coins! They are the only hope you have of saving humanity, and quite possibly the rest of the universe!"_

I looked to Jason. We all did.

"What do you think, Jace?" Zack asked.

"Kid. Andros," Jason said, "How do we know this... anything of this. Is real?"

"You require proof?" Andros asked. Jason was silent. We all were. Jason suggesting that there may be weight to what the strange child and apparent android said made the entire thing suddenly feel much more real. My stomach was tied so tight I could hardly breathe at this point. I adjusted my glasses nervously, as they slid down the bridge of my nose, slick with sweat.

"Very well," Andros said. He pulled one hand free of his cloak, holding it off to one side, and closed his eyes. For a long moment, everyone was still and silent. Nothing but the wind could be heard. Then, there was a sound like creaking metal. We all turned and watched in amazement, as the dumpster began to float, _float, _before our very eyes. I peeled my eyes away from the incredible sight to look at Andros. The young boy's face was placid, bu his brows were furrowed as if in concentration. Then, with a huff of relief, he let the dumpster slam to the ground.

"No freaking way," Trini recovered first. "You've gotta be kidding me. You're Luke freaking Skywalker."

"OK did that just happen?" Zack said, "That really just happened?"

"I'm from a planet called K0-35," Andros said. "My people are gifted with the gift of _Lanryn. _You call it "psychic powers." My planet was once destroyed. If you do not take the coins, yours will be too."

"Ok, this is totally freaky," Kimberly said, placing her fingers on her temples and sitting on the curb nearby.

Alpha-5 came forward, and with more machine noises coming from inside him, he opened up a panel in the front of his chest. From it, he withdrew a chrome tray, lined with some kind of black velvet. Resting in the squishy material were five small discs, not bigger than my own palm. They were made of a reflective golden metal, dented and haphazard, and each was inscribed with a complicated spiraling signet. Each signet was completely unique.

"_The Power Coins," _Alpha-5 said. "_Take them. As long as we are out in the open like this, they'll stick out like a sore thumb, dudes!"_

"What happens when we take them?" Zack asked the question we were all thinking.

"_The coins will grant you access to a wicked cool power, called the Morphin Grid," _Alpha-5 explained. "_Through the Grid, anything's possible. It will grant you the powers you need to kick the crap outta Rita, and keep your planet safe from she and her master._"

"Rita?"

"_A cosmic witch, from a faraway planet. She was once a general in the Power War, thousands of years ago. She almost helped some real bad dudes take over the universe! She was sealed away for her crimes by a wicked sage wizard, named Zordon,"_

Andros snorted.

"_But that wasn't the end of it! Turns out, uh oh, she's comin' back, and soon too! Ay yi yi! That is why you must take the Power Coins. To stop her from taking over your home planet of Earth." _Alpha-5 finished.

We went quiet. I can't tell you exactly what each of my friends was thinking. (I don't have _lanwyn _like Andros, though I wish I did, that would me incredible!) Kimberly seemed to have gotten over her initial state of overwhelmedness and was now looking expectantly at Jason, though her mind seemed made up. Trini glanced around at the group, but eventually her gaze landed on the odd pair we had just meant. She was clearly deep in thought. Zack and Jason stood in almost identical positions. Arms crossed, staring at the ground. I suddenly didn't know what to do with my hands. When Jason moved to speak, we all listened intently.

"Do we have a choice?" He asked, first to Alpha-5 and Andros. The alien child nodded.

"Always. The Power must be accepted, or it cannot be wielded," he said. Then, Jason turned to look at the four of us.

"Do we have a choice?" He asked, again, this time to us. Zack and Trini seemed upset.

"Yes!" Zack said. "I'm out. Why us? Find somebody more qualified, like a soldier, or a celebrity."

"I'm also out. This all sounds like some seriously crazy cosmic shit, and if I'm not home on time for my curfew my _ba _will actually lose his mind." Trini tacked on. "We're just teenagers."

"Um. I think I'd also like to be out," I said after some deliberation. "I agree. This seems like a big responsibility, and I don't really feel up to the challenge. As a matter of fact, my stomach is pretty numb and I might be having cold sweats."

Kimberly pursed her lips. She glanced over to Andros, who watched with a look of acceptance. Alpha-5 was obviously impossible to read, though he kept up his odd little dance. I could see the hurt in Kimberly's eyes. She wanted to help. It was in her nature. She looked over to Jason, then back to the duo.

"Me too," she said quietly, just to us. All eyes were on Jason. He ran a hand over his face and up through his hair, and let out an exasperated sounding breath. His face twitched into a few different expressions, and he avoided eye contact with us as he turned around to address Andros and Alpha.

"I'm sorry, we can't help you. Try to find a cop or something An adult… Good luck," he said. Then, to us: "Come on guys."

We filed off after him, and he held open the door for each of us to return to the, now surreal feeling, Angel Grove Mall. Jason was the last one in, his eyes lingering on the two by the dumpsters for a few more moments, before letting the unmarked door close. The mall was mostly empty at this point. Through all the talking and thinking, the sun had nearly set, and the sky had grown dark.

We returned to our table at the food court, and nobody was hungry. Not even Jason. Especially not Jason. We had gathered our things, and were preparing to dogpile back into Jason's car, when it happened. The lights of the mall, all at once, turned off with a low, droning hum. Only the faint glow of the emergency exit signs remained. Then, there was a loud _crash!_

And our lives changed forever.


	5. Chapter 3: Teamwork

**CHAPTER 3: Teamwork**

**Jason**

**Angel Grove Mall**

There were a few screams when the lights went down. My heart, which had been in my stomach until a few seconds ago, started racing. There was a loud _crash! _I whipped my head around in the darkness, trying to see what was happening, but I could only make out vague shapes. My eyes were still adjusting. I felt a hand, Kimberly's, pull me a direction, and I followed her lead. As the world slowly returned to me, I saw that a huge hole had been broken in the skylight above the food court, and glass had fallen everywhere. I even saw a few people with shards of it in their legs or arms. A few people had gone over to help the wounded in the food court, and I started to go that way, but Zack put a hand on my shoulder, and silently pointed towards the ceiling. I squinted.

My heart froze. Crawling across the ceiling was something like I'd never seen before. A nightmare monster. It had black fur like a panther, and its body was somewhere between a big cat and an ape, with strange, clawed hands, a thick black mane, and a tail. Sprouting from its back, and clung tight to itself, were a huge pair of avian looking wings. Around its waist there was some kind of belt, and that was all I could see.

That wasn't the worst of it. The worst were its eyes. They were a keen, bright red, and they shone in the dark, locked directly onto the five of us. We stood as still as we could. I think they were hoping it wouldn't see us if we froze. I gulped. It definitely saw us. Trying to hide wasn't going to be an option. I was about to turn around and tell my friends as much when there was another set of screams from the food court. All of our heads whipped that way, carelessly looking away from the creature for a few moments.

In the food court, something seriously weird was happening. A thick, grey sludge started too ooze up from everywhere you looked. Out of the garbage cans, up from the storm drains, out of water faucets. Then, as we watched, it started to mold itself, with an unsettling amount of sentience. The odd ooze started turning into humanoid shapes, all while making this gross, blubbering, slurping noise. By the time the noise stopped, there were at least a dozen putty dudes. They all started to look around, shoving people and things out of their way, as if they were rooting around for something specific.

Oh, no.

I looked back to the ceiling, trying to get a bead on where the creature had gone. It had disappeared. I craned my neck wildly, but couldn't catch sight of it. Heart pounding, I turned to the others.

"Move it, we gotta go," I said, taking the lead. Zack followed, and the others as well after a little hesitation.

"Where are we going?" Trini asked, "and what the hell were those things?"

"I don't know, but I lost sight of the thing on the roof," I called back, taking a sharp turn and throwing a look behind us. Nothing was chasing yet, but i had no doubt that if the mud men didn't get a whiff of us, the creature would get the drop on us if we didn't stay mobile. We bolted down halls, not daring to slow, zigzagging through the tremendous building, looking for a safe exit. Zack spotted one, and we started to make a break for it. As we were moving, there was a loud scream of pain, coming from behind us. I glanced over my shoulder. There was a middle aged man, in a suit, sprawled out on the ground, his face scratched and bloody, his eye swollen. He had been thrown, by a mud man it seemed, into one of the glass barriers that kept people from falling down to the second floor below. The barrier had cracked.

The weird goop dude began to lurch forward, dragging its amorphous feet and shuffling in an awkward but dangerously fast gait. It's face was a twisted, horrible mess, with gouged eyes and a dripping maw, and it gripped forward with grotesquely humanoid fingers. The man on the floor trembled, pulling himself into a tiny ball. The creature moved closer. I realized at this point that I had stopped running, and my friends were further down the hall, hissing my name, but trying not to alert the monster. I glanced once back at them, and then to the thing about to attack that guy. I can't tell you why I did what I did next. It felt like the only option. I couldn't have made any other choice, but the hundreds of sleepless nights that followed would make me wish I had.

I ignored my friends pleas to keep moving. I began to move forward, slowly at first, but picking up speed. Then I was bolting down the hallway, screaming my head off. Oh, yeah, at some point I had started screaming. With the full velocity of my running start, and the substantial weight of my body, I slammed my fist into the melted face of the putty man. It saw me coming. It saw me coming too late. My fist collided with its head. It felt like punching a brick wall coated in peanut butter There was this gut-wrenching snapping sound, and my entire right arm went numb. The creature took maybe two steps back from the force, a small dent having formed in the side of its cheek. I heard a gagging sound behind me, and saw Zack and Billy covering their mouths, looking down at my side. I followed their gaze.

The finger and hand bones of my right hand had been mangled. My fingers twisted in every which direction like the hair on an inflatable tube man. My wrist was bent at an angle it should never, _ever, _bend at, man. I blinked. I still felt nothing, but my stomach dropped when I realized that the shock wouldn't last. I shook my head, ignoring the slow tingling that was starting to creep its way up my right arm. I looked back to the enemy, the mud monster. It had completely forgotten about the other guy, to my credit, but now its eyes were locked on me. No good. Its head tilted to one side and then the other, slowly, and a creepy hand stroked its wounded face, which was already oozing back into place. Then, a spark of malice appeared in its black hole eyes, and it reared back a hard-as-iron fist to slug me!

_WHOOSH!_

There was a sound like a jet engine, backed by a sub-woofer, followed by a rush of what felt like compressed air. Posters and signs and glass and railing went flying, a few things slamming into me, but nothing debilitating or too painful. I squinted my eyes and unclenched my jaw to avoid my brain vibrating into jelly. Then, just as soon as it had come, the blast stopped. I blinked, and looked around frantically to see what had happened. The mud man was now yards away, a puddle on the ground. My friends had also fallen to their knees, clutching their ears, like I had, and standing behind them, his hand outstretched and bleeding freely from his nostrils, was the kid. _Andros_. The freaking psychic.

The kid held his pose for a moment longer, and then started to sway uneasily. Kimberly was there in a flash, having recovered quickly from the shock of the psychic blast, and helped him to a sitting position. Zack came over to me, helped me to my feet by my good hand, and we both walked slowly over to the pile of mud. It was seeping into a flatter puddle, but to both of us, it seemed pretty down for the count. We looked up from the mess at the same time, and met each other's eyes.

"That thing broke your hand, man," Zack said, "you punched it and it broke your hand." I winced. The tingling in my arm was turning into pins and needles of white-hot fire the longer time went on.

"What exactly was '_that thing?" _I said, again pushing the sensation to the back of my mind. Zack shook his head.

"Some type of freak… Does it hurt?" He asked.

"Nah," I said. He was skeptical.

"Really?"

"Yup. Totally fine," I lied. It hurt. So bad.

"I don't know, dude, this is bad news. Man, I _told _y'all we shouldn't be gettin' all up in this shit," he said.

"_I'm afraid it is a bit late for that, my dudes," _came a familiar synthetic robot voice. From around the corner came Alpha, doing his shuffling, hip bobbing walk. He came up to me, and there was a mechanical sound as he opened the hatch in his chest again, producing the tray of coins. "_Jason. Take the coin that's callin' your name. Its power will heal your wound, and give you the strength to stop these baddies! All of you, quickly, before Rita finds them!"_

There was a strange feeling in my gut. I had felt it earlier, when Alpha first showed us the coins. It was this feeling that had made everything they were saying so hard to shake, and now, in the midst of actual monsters and chaos… It grew even stronger. It was like singing, in my stomach, that lured me, pulled me, tugged me towards the coins. The center coin. The metal it was cast from gave off a red tinted sheen, from the glow of the emergency exit. I looked to the door, and then back to the coin, and with my good hand, I reached out and grabbed it.

Its impossible to describe what it feels like when you link with the Morphin Grid for the first time. Over the years, I've talked to other Power Rangers. Everyone says something a little different, but the common line is always this: they feel strong. For me, I felt a sudden surge of confidence, a moment of clarity that wasn't unlike the rush of making a good move in a martial arts match. I had made a good decision. The power joined with me. I felt fibers of some invisible energy stitch themselves with my own, permanently connecting me to this surging, rushing power. My body was glowing, I realized, a faintly red light danced its way across me, and the group looked on in awe as the bones and joints of my hands popped and tugged themselves back into place. I felt no pain, and in moments, I could flex the fingers of my right hand. My body hummed.

It must have looked pretty enticing, because the others were soon gathered around me and Alpha, looking at both my glowing aura and the coins in the tray. Judging by the faraway look they each got when they looked to the coins, they must have felt them calling by now too. One by one, they closed their hands around their coins, and one by one they, too, were surrounded by faint glowing auras. Pink for Kimberly, yellow for Trini, black for Zack, and blue for Billy.

"Stop playin'," Zack said, "what is _that_? I'm black cuz I'm black?"

"I don't think the cosmic otherpower of the universe made the color decisions based on human skin tone," Billy commented. We all laughed nervously, and then stopped. Then, the laughter bubbled up once again. Maybe it was the rush of power. Maybe we were all really unsure of what else to do, but soon we were all cracking up, laughing our asses off as Andros and Alpha watched. After the moment passed, we regained some composure, and the reality of the situation came back. The glow of our auras faded and subsided, but the power remained.

"There are more of them," Andros said simply.

"_You can be sure of it," _Alpha added. "_Rita's golems, or as I like to call them, the putty patrol-"_

Trini snorted.

"_-usually fight in larger groups. They serve as shock troops." _Alpha finished.

"How do we beat 'em?" I asked.

"_Great question, Jason! You simply apply enough dermal distress to disrupt their internal spellbindings and dispel them back into their material components!"_

"What?"

"_Uh-I mean, you like, just kick their butts until they turn back into goo!" _Alpha corrected.

"You two should get somewhere safe," Kimberly said. Andros looked drained, and Alpha didn't seem like a fighter. Andros nodded. Kimberly transitioned him over to Alpha, who gingerly helped him stand. The five of us gripped our coins tight, looking back down the empty, dark hallways we had come from.

"_There are two keys to using the power of the Morphin Grid," _Alpha said. "_The first, is a true, heroic spirit. Despite what you may think, Andros here believes that each of you has that step down, and I have reason to believe him! The second, and most vital step, is teamwork."_

"You sound like a sports coach," Zack said.

"_Believe me, Zack, what I'm telling you is very true and very important. If you don't work together, help each other, play to the others' strengths and cover their weaknesses… Then you will fail. And your planet is doomed." _Alpha said, any sense of upbeat cheer now gone.

The thoughtful silence that followed was short lived, sliced in half by a troupe of mangled howls. All of our heads whipped towards the hallway where it had come from. Mud men. Putty Patrol, as Alpha had put it. Kimberly and Zack ushered Alpha and Andros out of the exit, and with a parting, meaningful look from Andros, they were gone, and we were alone in the dark. Alone with monsters that wanted to kill us, and alone with a power we didn't understand. The thought began to bear heavily on me. I felt the weight of despair. Hopelessness. What made me think some coin made a difference? I had tried my best to take down just _one _of these things, and all I had gotten to show for it was a broken hand. I was no superhero.

I was shaken from my thoughts by a gentle hand on my shoulder. Kimberly. She gave me a nervous, but encouraging smile. I tried to return it. The other three stood off to the side, waiting. Kimberly slipped her hand into mine, and a buzz of energy snapped into both of us, causing sharp exhales and even more nervous smiles.

"We can do this," she said quietly, but loud enough for everyone to hear. I looked past her. Zack's back was to us, eyes locked on the surrounding darkness. Billy looked pale and sweaty, but resolved to the task at hand, and at this point, Trini just looked impatient. Like now that she had no choice, she was itching to get into the fight already. I felt her sentiment, and her energy, combined with the bravery from Billy, and the compassion from Kimberly, and it gave me strength. I stepped forward.

"Alright guys," I said. "Let's do it."

There was silent, unanimous agreement, and soon we were running back down the hall, trying to move as quietly was possible. I noticed that as we ran, I didn't tire as easily as I normally would. I'm a pretty big guy, with a lot of muscle packed on, so normally I don't run so fast, but now I felt like I could really move. Trini, especially, seemed to seriously cover ground, sprinting with what looked like ease ahead of the rest of us. She rounded a corner, disappeared, and then reappeared, bolting back towards us, eyes wide.

"What?" Zack called, "_What?"_

"I found them!" Trini said, skidding to a stop beside us. Our hearts kicked up. I felt each of our heartbeats. We tensed, myself falling into a combat stance, the others at least trying to do the same. It didn't take long. It must have been at least ten monsters, each one shambling and dragging themselves towards us at breakneck pace, babbling and snarling. I gulped, taking a final glance over at the friends who stood beside me. To my surprise, it was Billy who swung the first blow.

"nnnGyah!" He shouted, running forward with a cry equal parts terrified and jarringly confident. He swung a wild, messy hay-maker, slow and easy to see. Luckily, these guys didn't have the best reaction time, relying on their bulky physiques and strong armor. I winced, a phantom pain lancing through my arm as I recalled what had happened last time. However, this time, Billy's hand didn't break. This time, the freaking _putty's face did. _There was a sound like wet meat being thrown at a wall, and a faint flash of blue energy, as Billy's fist connected. The putty blew backwards, its face caved in, and it went crashing through a display window of the Gap. Billy was panting, and looked down at his fist in disbelief. The rest of the putty patrol, too, stood still for a moment, trying to wrap their heads around what had just happened.

The rest of us didn't give them time to recover. The battle was underway. I came forward, deflected a painfully strong swing from a putty into a nearby wall, then drove my elbow into its side, spinning it around on its heel. Then, with a heavy overhanded chop, I cracked its head like an egg. It dropped. Beside me, Kimberly did a cartwheel, her natural grace seemingly enhanced. With a deadly leap, she delivered a spinning kick to a pair of the putties. They flew in opposite directions, hitting either wall of the hallway, and then stumbling back towards Kim, shell-shocked. She grabbed both of their heads, and smooshed them together into one blob. They went down.

I got clipped, in the side of the head, distracted by the chaos of the fight. Fifteen or so bodies in a mall hallway, mostly in the dark. It was a frantic huddle of mud and skin and breathing and blood, with my friends and I trying to survive and learn to use our newfound powers. At one point, i think Billy accidentally hit Trini, and I definitely threw Zack into a wall on accident. There were screams and punches and shouts of pain, all clambering under the din of these things disgusting, burbling voices. We were strong, but my friends weren't martial artists, and we were outnumbered. To make matters worse, as I tried to keep track of the number of enemies and allies, it seemed that not every putty beaten in the initial engagement had stayed down. Soon, the five of us were pretty much shoulder to shoulder, being pushed back to back by the onslaught of putties.

"We need," panted Zack, "a plan!"

"Can-" Kimberly started, before taking a solid punch to the jaw. She struck two body blows back on her attacker, and then ducked beneath a high kick. Trini, with her incredible speed, swung a backwards elbow to the empty space in our wall, and connected with the putty. Kimberly breathed out in relief.

"Yes, good!" I called out, trying to keep tabs on my friends while avoiding getting turned into hamburger meat. "Work together! Cover each other! Its the only way we make it out of this!"

"Right!" Was the unanimous agreement. The battle began to sway. We started to get into a groove, a pulsing, striding rhythm of combat. I was the most experienced with fighting, and I could feel my intuition and insight being distributed to all five of us. Together, through force of will, and the power of our bond to each other and the Grid, we started to win.

Of course, the tides always change.

It didn't even make a sound when it swooped down. I hadn't seen it, its pitch black fur making it invisible as it clung to the ceiling above. One moment we were fighting, then next, a heavy impact on my chest. Clawed feet. They hit me hard, from above, and I was shoved to the ground, sliding back several feet. Then, there was something on top of me, about my size. It smelled like wet dog and meat breath. Its leathery hand found my throat, pinning my head to the ground while the rest of its weight held my body down. I struggled frantically with all of my newfound strength, but the thing had be pinned good. There was a slithering hiss and a glint in the dark. I stared up at dangerous red eyes.

"How quaint," the creature said in a snarling, gravelly tone. I was shaken by my ability to understand what it said. Maybe another power from the Morphin Grid? "The local monkeys have gotten their hands on some shiny magic toys. Hand that over before you hurt yourself."

I felt something cold and sharp press itself against my throat, and a faint trickle of hot liquid started to drip down my neck. I swallowed. I tried to squint past the creature in the darkness, to catch a glimpse of my friends. They were shapes in the dark, flashes of color coded light and visceral battle cries. They were fighting bravely, with everything they had, and my chest heaved as I realized that it didn't mean anything. This thing was going to kill me, and then it was going to kill my friends. Maybe the monster could sense what I was thinking, because it let out a dark, mirthful laugh, hot breath enveloping my face.

"Did you think the coins would save you?" The thing said. "You thought that some magic would make you more than a weak, pitiful thing? Bahahaha!"

All the while, my vision was going red, and then black at the edges. I couldn't breathe, the weight of this thing on my chest, it claws on my throat, was pushing me to unconsciousness. I felt panic set in, and my body screamed at me to escape, to get away, to fight back. I tried, as hard as I could, but I was truly captured. I needed more strength. I needed more power, to beat this thing. To save my friends, my home, my planet. I needed to take more from the Grid.

When we first touched the coins, the Grid showed us a sliver of what it could do. A tiny, teeny, miniature dose of what it was capable of, just to wake us up. To show us it as there. Then, it left that small amount of energy inside of us. It melded with us, changed us, and forever bound us to the Grid, and each other. I knew that there was more. In that moment, with nothing else, I reached for it. Blindly, I clawed my hand out in the darkness, ignoring the sadistic cackling of the winged monster as it shoved my face further into the ground. I ignored the pressure building in my skull, threatening to pop my eyes out of their socket. I reached for the Power. For the Grid. I needed it to give me more...

The hallway was suddenly bathed in bright light. My fingers found purchase one something. A handle. I gripped it with everything I had, and I felt a rush. The Morphin Grid, there was no mistaking it. The monster on top of me fluttered back in surprise, shielding its eyes. My friends and the putties paused their conflict to turn and look at me. They watched, as the air around me shimmered with energy. As if it were being pulled up from beneath the surface of water, a sleek suit of red armor bubbled into our world. It was perfectly tailored to my size, and looked like a way cooler version of something Boba Fett might wear. I felt the armor encase me, and my hand tightened its grip on what I held. From the same rippling film, I began to draw a sword; a _whole freaking sword, _out of thin air_. _It felt familiar, somehow, like I was meant to wield it.

The glow subsided, but I was still bathed in red energy. I turned to the monster. It also held a sword, wicked looking and with a gold handle. It eyed me dangerously, stalking a tight circle around me, holding its blade defensively. I mirrored its circle.

"Can you even swing that thing?" The monster jeered.

"I bet I can swing it hard enough to hit you," I responded. Its lips curled back.

It struck! I barely reacted in time, a sloppy two handed parry that sent most of the shock into my wrists. Ouch. Superpowers or not, this guy would do some serious damage to me if he landed a cut. Something told me there was a limit to the healing the Morphin Grid could do, and I didn't even want to get close to finding out what it was. I parried his next two strikes more confidently, before realizing that our circling had led us away from the main battle. I could hear that my friends had started fighting again, further down the hall. I tried to change footing, to start to shift us back towards them, but was cut off by another attack. I had to plant my feet and deflect. It was doing this on purpose. Zoning me off.

"You think that sword is going to matter?" It said. "Soon, my master will be coming to this disgusting space rock, and he'll finally make some use of you backwater dirt pigs. If you haven't been killed by the witch by then, that is."

"Shut up!" I shouted. This guy was starting to get my blood boiling. I swung a few heavy slashes at him, which he parried with deadly precision. It was clear that he had been sword-fighting for a lot longer than I had. I didn't care, in that moment. I couldn't let him do any more damage. He let me swing and swing and swing with my new, tireless energy. I struck and slashed and screamed, but I couldn't do this forever. I knew I could only stay in this powered up state for some time. I could feel my clock ticking down.

When the monster made its next attack, it swung low. I parried high. The sword tripped me up by the ankles, sending me landing hard on my back. If it weren't for my new armor, I might have been knocked unconscious by my head hitting the ground so hard. It was on me in two seconds, but I was up in one, and while I found the speed to block its next lethal lunge, I didn't find the footing. I spun in a pathetic loop towards the ground, five feet further down the hall. A few more steps back and I would have my back to the shattered glass guard rail. The monster walked easily towards me, giving me the chance to stand up once more. It was toying with me.

"So resilient," it said, stalking back and forth, blocking my path back towards my friends. "Are you never taught to know when you're beaten?"

It came at my fast, with a barrage of strikes. Some of them I stopped. Others, I did not. There were showers of sparks flying off where the metal of the sword met my armor. The armor held, for now, but the jarring power of the sword strikes made me wobbly in the legs. By the time the monster let up, I had my arms over the railing like a boxer on the ropes, panting, and it stood above me, sword pointed down at my throat once more.

"Well, allow me to let you know," it said, a cruel smile creeping across its leathery black muzzle, "you're beaten."

The words hurt worse than any of the strikes the monster had landed on me. There was a faint, pathetic pulsing sound, and my armor and sword shimmered out of existence. I was exposed. A sweating, beaten teenager. No hero. I couldn't even beat _Rocky DeSantos from Stone Canyon. _How did I think I had a chance against a hellmonster and cosmic destiny? The monster laughed, guttural and monstrous, It made a throat noise like it was about to speak, but stopped, sniffing the air. Then, it spun around. Through dazed eyes I followed its gaze. That way, in the entrance to the hallway, was a shining aura of light.

"Oh, gross, what _is _that thing?"

Trini.

"Jason! Oh, god, he's hurt!"

Kimberly.

"Its some kind of panthera homonid alien."

Billy.

"Hey, freak! Get the hell away from my friend!"

Zack.

My friends. They stood there, looking radiant and powerful, a rainbow of colorful energy swirling behind them. My heart fluttered with hope, and a stupid grin probably crept onto my face. The creature looked down at me, then back to them. With a snarl, it unfurled its wings and took a short hop back, catching itself in the air and swooping silently away, its dark form fading into the darkness.

My friends came to my side, and we all held each other. I told them that I wasn't hurt, which took some convincing even though it was the truth, and then we sat in silence for a while. The rest of the night was a blur. Alpha and Andros were gone; no sign of them. The coins remained with us, and none us were sure what to do, so we ended up just going home. It was a Thursday night. We had school tomorrow. My parents asked where I had been. I didn't tell them the mall. I crawled into bed, not even bothering to take my clothes off. It was probably the fastest I've ever fallen asleep in my life.

* * *

**Author's Note: **_Hey! How are you liking the story so far? I know this chapter was pretty long, but there was a lot that needed to get done. It seems like there's quite a few of you keeping up with the story at this point, and I'd love to hear what you think! How do you like my take on the characters? Is there anything from Power Rangers canon you hope makes its way in?_

_As always thank you for reading! Please stick around, cuz the show's just getting started._


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